Author
Topic: Orbital Hybridization of ClF3 (Read 28889 times)

Hello, I am a student in an AP class at high school. Our teacher is out of town and the moment, and I have a question. So I thought, this would be the place. I would like to ask if anyone knew the orbital box hybridization diagram for ClF3. I know that its structural pair geometry is trigonal bipyramidal and that its molecular geometry is T-shaped. I also know that the two lone pairs of electrons go in the equitorial position around the Cl. I know that the hybridization must be sp2, since it bonds with 3 F and then 2 lone pairs, but there is 7 electrons, or arrows in the box diagram, to work with. What I wanted to know is if the d orbital boxes must be used for this hybridization and how they would be used. Any answer would be helpful. Thank you.

Yes, the popular thought at this time is that d orbitals can be used to explain the bonding in molecules that exceed the octet rule. In this case, the chlorine atom in ClF3 is not sp2 hybridized, but is rather dsp3 hybridized. The s, p, and d valence orbitals of the chlorine atom all mix together to generate 5 hybrid valence orbitals. 2 of these orbitals are "lone pairs", which contain two electrons each. The other 3 orbitals are bonding orbitals and each contains 1 electron from the chlorine atom and 1 electron from the fluorine atom. So yes, you do have to use all 7 electrons from the chlorine atom.

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